I’ve been quiet over here lately – it’s been an extremely productive time spent working on the ‘Sisters for Sale’ book, and I’m delighted with the way it’s all been coming together.
Today I have some news for you about both the documentary and the book.
‘Sisters for Sale’ documentary screenings
The ‘Sisters for Sale’ documentary continues to make its way out into the world.
After the success of his first screening six weeks ago, Dustin Main will be hosting a much larger screening at 7pm on Thursday 3rd October at the stunning Roxy Theatre in Saskatoon, Canada.
The Roxy has been described as “one of the last vestiges of the grand, opulent, and truly magnificent art house movie palaces… not only one of the oldest cinemas in Western Canada, but also one of its most pristinely beautiful”, and I’d love to be there in person.
Entry is by donation, and seats can be pre-booked here.
(Photo credits: Daniel Dalman and Craig Koban).
Though we hadn’t planned any more festival screenings, I was recently invited to participate in the Freedom Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where 29 films from around the world will be screened over eight days.
‘Sisters for Sale’ will be screening with Malay subtitles at 8pm on Wednesday 25th September, and I’ll be there to answer questions in person after the film. Check out the FFF website for more details.
There are more screenings yet to be announced – and, if you’re interested to bring the film to your own community, Katie Carriero at thehumanearthproject@gmail.com can help you with the details.
The ‘Sisters for Sale’ book
I’ve really enjoyed working on the ‘Sisters for Sale’ book over the past few months.
There are times in my life I’ve been stuck in dead-end jobs thinking, I’m sure I could be somewhere else, doing something more meaningful with my life.
Recently, I feel I’ve been in exactly the right place, doing the exactly the right thing. I feel that my skills, knowledge, temperament, and experience are perfectly suited for the task.
It’s a huge job, but I believe it’s meaningful work which will make a very real difference in the lives of others.
‘Sisters for Sale’ is an unusually complex and fascinating story, and I’m excited to share it with you – but there has been an unexpected challenge.
The manuscript was originally expected to be around 80,000 words, which is an ideal length for a book. I’ve already written more than that, and there’s still much more of the story to tell.
Two years ago, we went through the process of cutting the story down dramatically for the documentary. It was a challenging process but one I ultimately enjoyed, and there’s no doubt it made the story more accessible.
Of course, it will be possible to do the same with the book. But the ‘Sisters for Sale’ story has never been told properly – and, if we cut the book so severely, it never will be.
That leaves two options – to release the story as a longer book, or to break it into two books. Commercially speaking, neither of those seem to be viable options for a publisher.
I’ll be working to finish the manuscript in the coming months, and will then have to decide whether to cut the story right back for a publisher, or whether there are other good alternatives for bringing the full story to an audience.
Stay tuned,
– Ben